Re: People's names

* Misha Wolf <Misha.Wolf@reuters.com> [2006-02-24 14:28+0000]

(nice to see this discussion happening...)

> 
> [This mail forms part of a thread on how to represent people's 
> names in NewsML 2.  To join the newsml-2 list, go to 
>    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newsml-2/
> The NewsML 2 specs etc are available at:
>    http://www.iptc.org/NAR/1.0/]
> 
> In reponse to my previous mail, I received a number of comments 
> along the lines of "I don't have a baptismal name".  For folks 
> unfamiliar with the principles of NewsML 2, I'll briefly say that 
> syntax such as:
> 
>   <name scope="scp:baptismal">Norma Jeane Baker</name>
> 
> means that the string "Norma Jeane Baker" is an instance of what 
> NewsML 2 might call a "name", that this name has what NewsML 2 might 
> call a "scope" and that this scope has a value "scp:baptismal", 
> which expands to (eg):
> 
>    http://www.some.uri#baptismal
> 
> where one might find a definition of "Baptismal name".
> 
> It does *not* mean:
> -  that everyone has a baptismal name
> -  that the members of the NewsML 2 Architecture WP have baptismal 
>    names
> -  that the main use of NewsML 2 will be to exchange news about 
>    people who have baptismal names
> -  that the Moon is made of green cheese
> 
> Every NewsML 2 producer is free to define their own terms or to 
> adopt terms defined by anyone else.  For example;
> 
>   <name>Theodor Herzl</name>
>   <name scope="scp:hebrew">Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl</name>
> 
> where "scp:hebrew" expands to (eg):
> 
>    http://www.some.uri#hebrew
> 
> or:
> 
>   <name scope="foo:hebrew">Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl</name>
> 
> where "foo:hebrew" expands to (eg):
> 
>    http://www.someother.uri#hebrew
> 
> The other main class of comments concerned xml:lang.  Yes, the 
> proposed "name" element will accept xml:lang.
> 
> I'll now return to the discussion of names.  I've pretty much left 
> parts 1 and 2 the same, but have substantially changed parts 3 and 4.
> 
> I see four orthogonal axes (which can be combined as required): 
> part, scope, formality, purpose.

XML attributes aren't repeatable. Does this nicely suit yor intended
meaning, or is it a purely syntactic restricution? eg. could a single 
name string have 2 or more values for 'formality'? Or do you intend 
the values for each axis (including their extensions) to be mutually
exclusive?

Dan

Received on Friday, 24 February 2006 14:37:44 UTC